CBA (Contents)

Congressional Budget Act of 1974

Section 308

TITLE III – CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET PROCESS

reports, summaries, and projections of congressional budget actions

Sec. 308. (a) Reports on Legislation Providing New Budget Authority or Providing an Increase or Decrease in Revenue or Tax Expenditures.—

(1) Whenever a committee of either House reports to its House a bill or joint resolution, or committee amendment thereto, providing new budget authority (other than continuing appropriations) or providing an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures for a fiscal year (or fiscal years), the report accompanying that bill or joint resolution shall contain a statement, or the committee shall make available such a statement in the case of an approved committee amendment which is not reported to its House, prepared after consultation with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office—

(A) comparing the levels in such measure to the appropriate allocations in the reports submitted under section 302(b) for the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution on the budget for such fiscal year (or fiscal years);

(B) containing a projection by the Congressional Budget Office of how such measure will affect the levels of such budget authority, budget outlays, revenues, or tax expenditures under existing law for such fiscal year (or fiscal years) and each of the four ensuing fiscal years, if timely submitted before such report is filed; and

(C) containing an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office of the level of new budget authority for assistance to State and local governments provided by such measure, if timely submitted before such report is filed.

(2) Whenever a conference report is filed in either House and such conference report or any amendment reported in disagreement or any amendment contained in the joint statement of managers to be proposed by the conferees in the case of technical disagreement on such bill or joint resolution provides new budget authority (other than continuing appropriations) or provides an increase or decrease in revenues for a fiscal year (or fiscal years), the statement of managers accompanying such conference report shall contain the information described in paragraph (1), if available on a timely basis. If such information is not available when the conference report is filed, the committee shall make such information available to Members as soon as practicable prior to the consideration of such conference report.

(3) CBO Paygo estimates.—

(A) The Chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the House and Senate, as applicable, shall request from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office an estimate of the budgetary effects of PAYGO legislation.

(B) Estimates shall be prepared using baseline estimates supplied by the Congressional Budget Office, consistent with section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

(C) The Director shall not count timing shifts, as that term is defined at section 3(8) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, in estimates of the budgetary effects of PAYGO Legislation.

(b) Up-To-Date Tabulations of Congressional Budget Action.—

(1) The Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall issue to the committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate reports on at least a monthly basis detailing and tabulating the progress of congressional action on bills and joint resolutions providing new budget authority or providing an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures for each fiscal year covered by a concurrent resolution on the budget. Such reports shall include but are not limited to an up-to-date tabulation comparing the appropriate aggregate and functional levels (including outlays) included in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget with the levels provided in bills and joint resolutions reported by committees or adopted by either House or by the Congress, and with the levels provided by law for the fiscal year preceding the first fiscal year covered by the appropriate concurrent resolution.

(2) The Committee on the Budget of each House shall make available to Members of its House summary budget scorekeeping reports. Such reports—

(A) shall be made available on at least a monthly basis, but in any case frequently enough to provide Members of each House an accurate representation of the current status of congressional consideration of the budget;

(B) shall include, but are not limited to summaries of tabulations provided under subsection (b)(1); and

(C) shall be based on information provided under subsection (b)(1) without substantive revision.

The chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives shall submit such reports to the Speaker.

(c) Five-year Projection of Congressional Budget Act.—As soon as practicable after the beginning of each fiscal year, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall issue a report projecting for the period of 5 fiscal years beginning with such fiscal year—

(1) total new budget authority and total budget outlays for each fiscal year in such period;

(2) revenues to be received and the major sources thereof, and the surplus or deficit, if any, for each fiscal year in such period;

(3) tax expenditures for each fiscal year in such period; and entitlement authority for each fiscal year in such period.

(d) Scorekeeping Guidelines.—Estimates under this section shall be provided in accordance with the scorekeeping guidelines determined under section 252(d)(5) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

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COUNSEL NOTES

Codification

This section is classified to the U.S. Code at 2 U.S.C. 639.

Deschler’s Precedents

Section 308

Section 308 of the Congressional Budget Act[1] requires that certain budgetary information be included in House (and Senate) committee reports. Whenever a committee reports a bill or joint resolution[2] providing new budget authority (other than continuing appropriations) or providing an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures, the report accompanying such bill or joint resolution must include a statement (prepared after consultation with the Congressional Budget Office)[3] that includes the following items: (1) a comparison of the budgetary levels in such measure with the appropriate allocation under section 302; (2) a projection by the Congressional Budget Office of how such measure will affect the relevant budgetary levels for the current fiscal year and the four ensuing fiscal years; and (3) an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office of the new level of budget authority for assistance to state and local governments provided by such measure. Section 308(a)(2) applies these requirements to conference reports as well.

These requirements have been incorporated into the standing rules of the House, and are currently found in Rule XIII clause 3(c)(2).[4] Clause 3(c)(2) provides that all committee reports include the required elements of section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act, ‘‘except that an estimate of new budget authority shall include, when practicable, a comparison of the total estimated funding level of the relevant programs to the appropriate levels under current law.’’[5] Committees have been given leave to file supplemental reports to correct substantive omissions such as the requirements of section 308(a).

[1]. 2 USC § 639.

[2]. Parliamentarian’s Note: Prior to the revisions occasioned by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997, section 308 was applicable to any ‘‘bill or resolution,’’ ostensibly covering simple resolutions of the House (such as special orders of business). For an example of proceedings involving a ‘‘self-executed’’ amendment via a special order of business prior to this revision, see § 7.2, infra. A similar issue has arisen with regard to section 306, which also uses the term ‘‘resolution.’’ Beginning with the 107th Congress (and continuing in each subsequent Congress), the House has adopted as a separate order, contained in the opening-day resolution adopting the rules of the House, a provision interpreting the term ‘‘resolution’’ in section 306 to refer to a ‘‘joint resolution’’ only. See, e.g., 147 Cong. Rec. 26, 107th Cong., 1st Sess., Jan. 3, 2001 (H. Res. 5, sec. 3(b)(1)).

[3]. Section 402 (formerly section 403) of the Congressional Budget Act (2 USC §653) requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide budgetary analysis of certain reported measures and further requires the inclusion of such analysis in the report accompanying such measure if timely submitted to the committee.

[4] . House Rules and Manual § 840 (2011).

[5]. Id.

SECTION 308 (CBA), AS ENACTED

Section 308 (CBA), as enacted by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 97-344).

SECTION 308 (CBA) FROM THE BPLA

Section 308 (BPLA), as set out in the Budget Process Law Annotated (1993).

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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY NOTES

Public Laws

Pub. L. 93–344, title III, §308, July 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 313 (Congressional Budget Act of 1974).

Pub. L. 99–177, title II, §201(b), Dec. 12, 1985, 99 Stat. 1051 (Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985).

Pub. L. 101–508, title XIII, §13206, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–617 (Budget Enforcement Act of 1990).

Pub. L. 105–33, title X, §10110, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 685 (Budget Enforcement Act of 1997).

Pub. L. 111–139, title I, §4(b), Feb. 12, 2010, 124 Stat. 11 (Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010).

Pub. L. 113–67, div. A, title I, §122(8), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1175 (Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013).

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 1329 of Title 31 prior to the general revision and enactment of Title 31, Money and Finance, by Pub. L. 97–258, §1, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 877. (Title 31 Revision and Codification Act of 1982).

Amendments  

2013

Subsection (d).

Pub. L. 113–67 (BBA 2013) made a technical amendment by revising the small cap style of “Scorekeeping Guidelines”. 

2010

Subsection (a).

Pub. L. 111–139, §4(b)(1)(B) (S-Paygo 2010), struck out “Reports on” before “Legislation” in heading. [This amendment was executed to fulfill apparent Congressional intent, but the technical amendment language made reference to “Reports on” rather than “Reports on” and therefore the small cap style was improperly reflected in the amendment.

Subsection (a)(3).

Pub. L. 111–139, §4(b)(1)(A) (S-Paygo 2010), added paragraph (3).

Subsection (d).

Pub. L. 111–139, §4(b)(2) (S-Paygo 2010), added subsection (d). 

1997 

Subsection (a).

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(1)(A) (BEA 1997), struck out “, new spending authority, or new credit authority,” after “new budget authority” in the heading.

Subsection (a)(1).

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(4) (BEA 1997), in introductory provisions, substituted “bill or joint resolution” for “bill or resolution” in two places.

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(1)(D) (BEA 1997), in introductory provisions, struck out “, new spending authority described in section 651(c)(2) of this title, or new credit authority,” after “continuing appropriations)”.

Subsection (a)(1)(B).

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(1)(C) (BEA 1997), substituted “revenues, or tax expenditures” for “spending authority, revenues, tax expenditures, direct loan obligations, or primary loan guarantee commitments”.

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(1)(B) (BEA 1997), struck out subparagraph (B) and redesignated subparagraph (C) as the current subparagraph (B). Former subparagraph (B) read as follows:

“(B) including an identification of any new spending authority described in section 401(c)(2) of this title which is contained in such measure and a justification for the use of such financing method instead of annual appropriations;”.

Subsection (a)(1)(C), (D).

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(1)(B) (BEA 1997), redesignated subparagraphs. (C) and (D) as (B) and (C), respectively.

Subsection (a)(2).

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(4) (BEA 1997), substituted “bill or joint resolution” for “bill or resolution”.

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(1)(D) (BEA 1997), struck out “, new spending authority described in section 401(c)(2) or new credit authority,” after “continuing appropriations)”.

Subsection (b)(1).

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(4) (BEA 1997), substituted “bills and joint resolutions” for “bills and resolutions” in two places.

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(2) (BEA 1997), struck out “, new spending authority described in section 651(c)(2) of this title, or new credit authority,” after “new budget authority”.

Subsection (c)(3) to (5).

Pub. L. 105–33, §10110(3) (BEA 1997), inserted “and” at the end of paragraph (3), substituted a period for “; and” at the end of paragraph (4), and struck out paragraph (5) which read as follows: “credit authority for each fiscal year in such period.” 

1990 

Subsection (a)(1).

Pub. L. 101–508, §13206(a)(1) (BEA 1990), inserted “(or fiscal years)” after “fiscal year” in introductory provisions and in subparagraphs (A) and (C).

Subsection (a)(2).

Pub. L. 101–508, §13206(b) (BEA 1990), inserted “(or fiscal years)” after “fiscal year”.

Subsection (b)(1).

Pub. L. 101–508, §13206(c) (BEA 1990), substituted “for each fiscal year covered by a concurrent resolution on the budget” for “for a fiscal year” in first sentence, and “the first fiscal year covered by the appropriate concurrent resolution” for “such fiscal year” in the second sentence. 

1985 

Subsection (a).

Pub. L. 99–177 (BBEDCA), in amending subsection (a) generally, designated existing provisions as paragraph (1), substituted provisions relating to reports on legislation providing new budget authority, new spending authority, or new credit authority, or providing an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures, for provisions relating to reports on legislation providing new budget authority or tax expenditures, and added paragraph (2).

Subsection (b).

Pub. L. 99–177 (BBEDCA), in amending subsection (b) generally, designated existing provisions as paragraph (1), substituted provisions relating to issuance of reports on a monthly basis and contents of such reports, for provisions relating to issuance of reports on a periodic basis and contents of such reports, and added paragraph (2).

Subsection (c).

Pub. L. 99–177 (BBEDCA) amended subsection (c) generally, adding pars. (4) and (5).

Effective Date of 1985 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 99–177 (BBEDCA) effective Dec. 12, 1985, and applicable with respect to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1985, see section 275(a)(1) of Pub. L. 99–177 (BBEDCA), formerly set out as an Effective and Termination Dates note under section 900 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 112–25, title I, §104(a), Aug. 2, 2011, 125 Stat. 246.

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[BCR § 118]